Having a whale of a time: The amazing moment a polar bear feasts on the blubbery remains of a dead orca

The amazing images show a polar bear feasting on the remains of dead whale.

Resting happily on the mammal, the bear - facing a heavy meal- appears to sensibly be sharing his meaty find with a flock of seagulls.

Captured on board a cruise ship, the footage was taken in Magdalena fjord, Spitsbergen, a Norwegian island in the icy waters of the Arctic ocean.

Tucking in: A polar bear enjoys the remains of a dead whale in the Arctic Ocean

The photographer, helmsman Jerry Ur, travelling on a Voyages of Discovery cruise,
was attempting to demonstrate the benefits of a cruise holiday and in
particular, of a smaller ship which makes
extraordinary experiences like this possible.

Although polar bears have been known to hunt beluga whales, by swiping at them at breathing holes, it is likely this particular whale was already dead.

The polar bear is an enormously powerful predator, able to kill an adult walrus, although it rarely attempts to as a walrus can be more than twice the bear's weight.

Bon appetit: A polar bear's diet can often be supplemented by the carcasses of dead whales

The whales are of similar size
to the walrus and nearly as difficult for the bear to subdue. Most
terrestrial animals in the Arctic can outrun the polar bear on land as
polar bears overheat quickly, and most marine animals the bear
encounters can outswim it.

In some areas, the polar bear's diet is
supplemented by walrus calves and by the carcasses of dead adult
walruses or whales, whose blubber is readily devoured even when rotten.